Unlocking brand growth through the power of podcasts

The Podcasting Market industry is projected to grow from USD 19.6 billion in 2023 to USD 190.12 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.8% during the forecast period (2023-2032). The integration of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), deep learning, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into podcasting platforms, along with progress in Machine Learning (ML) and AI advancements are expected to be significant market drivers.

By Romanita Oprea

Efectiv Podcast aims to explore how communication can contribute to a better world through evidence-based discussions and debates with experts from multiple sectors. Initiated by Dana Nae Popa, owner and managing director of pastel, founder of Asociatia pastel, and co-founder of COPERA Branding, Efectiv Podcast is moderated by communication professionals and built alongside specialists from all fields, from advertising and marketing to non-governmental associations, entertainment, and music.

“During the 18 years of entrepreneurship in the communication industry, we have realised that, in addition to contributing to building brands with strong voices, we also have a superpower: to turn up the volume on communication that does good. At the end of the day, I like to think that I’ve changed at least one perception for the better, either through a message, an event or a social campaign, and those are the rewards we take to heart and that give us the energy to move forward. That’s why we’ve launched Efectiv Podcast,” says Dana Nae Popa.

The podcast is hosted by communication specialists Ioan Ungureanu and Ioana Duca, and it is broadcast every other Wednesday on a variety of platforms.

“When Dana Nae Popa told us about Efectiv Podcast, we were more than excited, because we too were driven by the desire to do even a small amount of good on top of our daily work. The approach we take when thinking about communication campaigns naturally integrates an approach to changing the world for the better. We believe that together with communication facilitators, we can better understand global trends, analyse data, trends, and measure the impact of good, one effect at a time,” adds Ioana Duca, Efectiv Podcast co-host.

“When I was little, I was told that it’s important to think about the people around you. Of course, it took me years to understand how I could appropriate this thought, make it my own. After 12 years of communication, of which over 7 years in advertising, I had a liberating revelation: language is actually the unsuspected superpower in people. And then, naturally, I accepted Dana’s invitation to join Ioana and all our guests on a journey to discover how we can use this power to infuse good into any communication project,” adds Ioan Ungureanu, co-host of the Efectiv Podcast.

Deeper connections with the audience

Podcasts offer a uniquely flexible listening experience that modern audiences love. With just a simple tap on their smartphone, listeners can engage with their favourite brands on topics they’re passionate about, whether they’re jogging, commuting or cooking dinner. This accessibility makes podcasts an invaluable tool for brands looking to forge a deeper connection with their audience in the most convenient way possible.

For marketers, the appeal of podcasting extends beyond mere convenience. It presents a distinctive opportunity to align with the audience’s listening preferences and integrate seamlessly into their daily routines. Podcasts not only entertain but also educate and inspire, establishing a brand as a go-to source for valuable insights. This continuous delivery of value creates a strong community of engaged listeners—loyal advocates who trust and prioritise your brand for information and interaction.

According to Diana Serban, Owner & CEO D|MBC, podcasts have become a powerful tool for brand growth, offering a unique platform to reach and engage audiences in a more intimate and authentic way. They allow brands to tell their story in a conversational and genuine manner. Unlike traditional ads, they enable deeper storytelling, helping to build an emotional connection with the audience. Video content generates a huge engagement nowadays and podcasts are the perfect tool to generate short form content that creates the effect of wanting more. In terms of impact, here are some results Diana Serban and her team have achieved for their clients.

“Niche targeting: podcasts often cater to specific interests and communities, allowing brands to tap into these niches and reach a more engaged and relevant audience, thereby increasing the likelihood of building brand loyalty. For example, a few years ago, we created a podcast aimed at people interested in recycling light bulbs. The primary purpose was to raise awareness of the brand, followed by providing short educational content on why recycling light bulbs is important, their impact on the environment, and how we can contribute to a better future. The results were outstanding, both in terms of brand awareness and audience engagement,” Diana Serban explains.

There’s also thought leadership. By participating in or sponsoring podcasts, brands can position themselves as experts in their field. Sharing valuable insights or discussing industry trends helps establish authority and build trust. For example, D|MBC created a personal brand podcast for one of their clients—an entrepreneur aiming to position himself as a business consultant. By being authentic, he made a significant impact with the podcast, as people enjoyed discovering him as a person first, which generated trust and engagement. The most interesting aspect is that he used the information from the podcast as a foundation to write his own book, adding complementary insights that served as an additional brand activation in terms of thought leadership.

“Long-Form Engagement: unlike short ads or social media posts, podcasts engage listeners for longer periods, allowing brands to convey their messages more effectively and build a deeper relationship with their audience. For example, this year, we launched our own brand campaign, The Human Side of Marketing—a podcast that features Romanian marketing specialists working abroad, sharing their personal and professional stories. From the outset, our goal was to create content that our target audience would enjoy primarily on Sundays as a form of relaxation. By sharing these incredible stories, we anticipated that our audience would become increasingly engaged with our brand, and we were right!” Diana Serban adds.

Last, but not least, are SEO and Content Repurposing. Podcast content can be repurposed into articles, social media posts, videos or infographics, amplifying a brand’s reach across multiple platforms and enhancing SEO. That is exactly what they have done with The Human Side of Marketing—each episode was turned into a blog article that brought more traffic to D|MBC’s website.

Engagement and real future investment

According to Forecom, podcasting offers an accessible start for brands looking to enter the content creation space without the hefty initial investment associated with other media. Unlike traditional radio or video production, which can require significant financial outlay, starting a podcast can be as simple as purchasing a quality microphone and using free recording software. Moreover, podcasts are known for fostering high levels of listener engagement. They not only attract regular listeners but also encourage deep connections between the audience and the host. This engagement is often characterised by high completion rates and repeat listens, attributes that are gold for marketers aiming to build lasting relationships with their audience.

Podcasts integrate seamlessly into a broader content strategy, complementing and enhancing other content types like blogs and videos. This synergy across media not only amplifies your marketing message but also strengthens your overall brand narrative.

As shown by recent reports, podcast listenership has been steadily increasing, with approximately 80 million people in the United States alone listening to podcasts each week. This growth is expected to continue, with some projections estimating that the global podcast market will reach USD 3.3 billion by 2025. When it comes to higher education marketing, podcasts are emerging as a powerful tool for reaching and engaging with prospective students, current students, and alumni. Universities and colleges are starting to recognise the potential of podcasts to create a more dynamic and engaging marketing strategy. Therefore, podcasts offer a unique opportunity for higher education institutions to showcase their expertise and thought leadership, as well as to share information about their programmes, faculty, and research initiatives.

How can they help grow brands? According to Ioana Duca, we are navigating a highly complex and dynamic media landscape, particularly in the realm of social media, where the speed of content interaction often results in the loss of emotional connection. She believes that the podcast format, as we know it today (whether audio-video or audio only), has the unique ability to reach and engage audiences that are otherwise difficult to capture and retain. These audiences become deeply invested in the listening experience and seek informative content for both professional and personal growth. The structure of a podcast—its intimacy, flexibility, and authenticity—resonates with listeners, making them more receptive to brand presence.

“I recently read a study revealing that podcast advertising generates more attention than TV and social media. Due to the highly engaged community that forms around a podcast, the audience is much more attentive and receptive to the messages conveyed. This deep connection with listeners makes podcasts an effective medium for brands looking to connect with consumers on a personal level. This relationship can lead to faster purchasing decisions with measurable results in sales,” Duca explains.

Her colleague Ioan Ungureanu adds, “we blindly binge on bite-sized media, absorbed by flashy snippets, yet we also wake up in the middle of the night, shivering with unfamiliar nostalgia for the times long content was the norm—this paradox is everybody’s struggle today if you ask me. For brands, the advantage of short content has become a disadvantage. Things move too fast for anyone to remember the source. ‘Oh, that ad was funny. What was the brand again?’ Proof for my unpopular opinion? All the 3-hour, sometimes even 4-hour-long podcasts that are successful now, in 2024. Andrew Huberman, Joe Rogan, just to name the titans—but there are many more. What’s the impact on growth for a brand? Fostering deeper connections with their audience, enhancing brand awareness, and driving engagement. Podcasts tend to get niched targets. Meaning that listeners of a podcast are usually there by choice. When choosing a podcast, a brand opts to reach segments of their target market. When choosing a podcast to sponsor, brands position themselves as industry experts or thought leaders and get the proper platform to have long-form conversations with their audience,” added the Efectiv podcast co-host.

Values and inspiration

“Podcasts are more than just an image or marketing exercise; they’re a chance for the brand to translate its values into the conversations it provokes through podcasts. We’ve always chosen to promote podcasts that emphasise the story of the people in the studio over publicity moments where the client’s product is being tested live or a commercial clip is being played. The more authentic and uncensored the discussion, the greater the benefits for the sponsor, sometimes even by assigning labels such as ‘brave brand’ or ‘brand that understands me’” argues Gerhald Ernst, PR Director at Oxygen.

What about educating the consumer? There is no reason why the two targets wouldn’t go hand in hand. In Ernst’s opinion, it does take time and a client who is willing to have a podcast episode with lower audience figures. Oxygen had two podcasts produced by Andi Moisescu and Mihai Morar, both sponsored by Vodafone, in which they talked for an hour and a half about domestic violence and premature babies in Romania. These episodes had a lower number of views than the average of the previous episodes. But after the episode aired, the Vodafone Foundation saw an influx of SMS sponsorships.

“What we have achieved with the podcasts where Oxygen customers are co-producers has been to always have a moment of awareness on a CSR cause or highlight a life lesson in each episode to inspire the viewers,” Ernst explains.

Currently, the Vodafone brand sponsors multiple digital productions. Andi Moisescu, Bogdan Simion, and Razvan Exarhu are three of the podcast hosts Vodafone is partnering with in 2024-2025. They are joined by business & IT podcast Stakeborg Talks and the IQ Digital conference series, but also niche digital productions like Sigur pe Munte, providing educational pills about mountain safety, and cultural pills hosted by Vodafone’s YouTube account from all events powered by Vodafone.

“I believe the most important aspect is to emphasise the benefits of such a tool in a very measurable way because, at the end of the day, marketing and brand managers need numbers. As a content specialist, you need to demonstrate that you understand their needs. Additionally, the target audience grasps the importance of a podcast by seeing examples from other brands. There will always be early adopters and more conservative customers, so the most efficient approach is to address them by category,” Diana Serban argues.

Moreover, when it comes to branded podcasts, she believes that they are valuable for both brand awareness and lead generation. You can use a podcast to make your brand more noticeable through the stories you share, and then repurpose segments of the podcast into blog articles that highlight the benefits of your services. These articles can include a contact form at the end, allowing you to collect leads effectively.

“More and more people are searching for success stories, and business podcasts that share stories and how-to content are among the most popular. What brands need to understand is that people seek inspiration, and a branded podcast is the perfect tool to provide this,” she concludes.

Education and real potential

At Efectiv Podcast, the moderators are at the forefront of education. Each guest they host and every research endeavour they undertake exposes them to valuable information that may otherwise remain inaccessible. Curiosity is a defining trait of the approach, and Ioana Duca believes that when listeners engage with their podcast with this mindset, the educational process unfolds almost effortlessly.

“I believe education comes in many forms. For one, it can take the shape of different opinions that are properly delivered by the guests of the show. Having experts discuss a topic is another way to educate the consumer target. A good question asked at the right moment can uncover a new dilemma in the listener’s mind, not to mention the inspirational power of an unexpected answer. Above all, I think the added value comes from the almost unlimited amount of time you have to dive in on issues and curiosities in a format that’s accessible on the go,” Ungureanu adds.

According to Jeff Large for Come Alive, building authority through podcasting is not limited to entrepreneurs and personalities. The second part of the equation has to do with social proof.

“Successful business growth depends on reaching and converting new audiences. This means you need a marketing strategy. Traditional marketing channels, like ads, are typically intrusive and unwanted. Branded podcasts, on the other hand, allow you to develop an ongoing relationship with your audience,” said Jeff Large. He also mentions an Edison Research report that showed that almost half of monthly podcast listeners believe podcast ads are not intrusive. That is uncommon with all other types of ads. “Ads and calls-to-action in podcasts are accepted and acted on. According to reports by Deloitte and Nielsen, podcast ads continue to generate positive results for businesses, from brand lift to purchase influence. Running a branded podcast has much more opportunity than traditional marketing strategies. It allows you to tailor content directly to the people you want to attract,” he explained.

Customers appreciate when brands give them a platform to be heard and celebrated, and podcasting can help achieve this. They feel more connected to your brand and your company, as a result of you spending time talking to them. A great example of this is Jaspr, a company that makes air purifiers for homes. Their podcast helps inform listeners about having a healthy home and a healthy lifestyle, furthering their mission and creating a connection with their customers.

Ioana Duca believes that branded podcasts have the potential to significantly enhance brand awareness and impact. However, in the absence of a compelling idea or innovative approach, a branded podcast is unlikely to achieve mass appeal, particularly given the rapidly expanding podcast market and the abundance of high-quality content available. In contrast, she thinks that a branded podcast is well-suited to connect with cold audiences, particularly within B2B segments, thus creating valuable new media opportunities.  Ioan Ungureanu thinks they can be effective only if they’re designed as a natural development of a show’s main topic. Branded content in the podcast world simply will not work if the message of the brand is not properly aligned with the show’s missions and values. There needs to be synergy between the two.

As a good example, last year NASA Audio collaborated with the agency’s Spanish communications programme to launch NASA’s first Spanish-language podcast, Universo Curioso de la NASA. This non-fiction narrative storytelling podcast, hosted and produced by Noelia González, takes listeners through NASA’s most impactful missions and the science that fuels them, through the voices and experiences of the Hispanic/Latino experts at the forefront of that work. Rather than simply translating one of the existing podcast offerings from English, they worked with the NASA en Español communications team to brainstorm and produce all-original audio storytelling tied to mission milestones from the agency.

“I think this direction really resonated with our target audience. Upon release, Universo Curioso de la NASA charted #1 in Science in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and #2 in Science in Argentina and Peru. It broke the top 50 chart in All Podcasts in multiple countries as well, including Canada and Spain. We’ve learned from platform partners that there aren’t very many Spanish science podcasts out there, and we’re excited to see how NASA has been able to come in and narrow that gap,” said Katie Konans, Audio Storytelling Lead at NASA.